Lovely little things

A couple of years ago I did this weekly gratitude thing here. It was awesome and fun for me. It made me think and it did make me so much more grateful.

And it was terrible for traffic.

I’m no stats queen. And I rarely have enough traffic to really count beans about. But those gratitude posts? My worst performing by far. Very far.

And I get it, of course. Those posts were for me. And for you insofar as I hoped they helped you to pause, take a moment, and remember to be grateful and make a list of your own. But the lists, probably not terribly exciting for anyone but me.

So last year, along the way somewhere, I dropped them.

Of course, the unintended consequence of dropping such a thing is that, eventually, you drop the practice too. Of course I did not replace the time spent typing my gratitudes into WordPress by writing them into a journal. Oh if only.

And, of course, I found that last year, overall, I was far less grateful for the good in my life. And I focused far too much on the bad. And the countless blessings, things like extra time in the sun with my littles and an iced soy chai on a warm Fall day, and watching my girl blossom and bloom at school, and, and, and… well they all passed me by.

So this year, I bring back the gratitude.

And I bring them back here. As lovely little things.

And I do it for me.

But I also do it for you. And I hope that you’ll join me. Will you join me? If you will maybe we’ll start a link up and we’ll all change our lives just a little bit.

A life without gratitude is darker and colder. A life when you don’t stop to appreciate the many blessings doesn’t feel blessed. This year, I’m all about the light and the warm and the blessed.

~~~~~

This week had so many lovely little things.

Freezing

Tuesday is a perfect example of how badly I need this practice. Because I hate the word hate but I hate the cold even more. And as I sat down to work on Tuesday morning, this is what my phone told me was happening outside.

7. My favorite number. Unless it sits all alone, without a 4 or a 5 behind it, to represent the temperature outside my window. Oh my goodness brrrr.

School was cancelled. M stayed home because his commute involves long walks and waits for buses and trains. And we acted like little kids to whom God had just given a brand new science kit. We tossed boiling water out into the air and watched it create a billowly cloud of smoke. We blew bubbles and didn’t really care that they didn’t freeze on impact because when else can you blow bubbles into single digits? We froze paper towels to the statue outside of our house and to the front door. M and I got to sneak out together, child-free, to grab a cup of coffee. These moments would have never happened on a 70 degree day.

Sweet, little messages

I bought this at Target last week. It was in the dollar section which will hereby be known as the most brilliant section ever to grace a store like Target. Because I walk through it and can justify just about any purchase because hey, it’s only a dollar! That’s like nothing! So I bought two and put this little one by my desk. Live, Love, Laugh. Oh yes, don’t mind if I do.

Inspiration

I started this book at the end of last year but lost track of most things over the holiday break. But it’s so perfect as a start-of-year read and every night this week I’ve curled up on my couch to read a chapter (or two, or three). I’ll write more about Hands Free Mamanext week but I am so grateful this week for my friend, Rachel’s words.

Most lovely words I read this week
“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, know suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.
~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

What are you grateful for this week?